question about soap nuts

[wholewheatchick]

I thought about putting ths in the CD forum, but I wasn't sure...please move if needed, but it really is about laundry

We are going to use CDs for this baby (mostly prefolds) and I am giong to make my own detergent from washing soda, borax, soap, and water. I know that those aren't the most "natural" ingredients, but that's what is going to work for us on a regular basis.

But my question with soap nuts has to do with travelling. Our families live out of state (like, thousands of miles away) so when we go see them, we'll have to do CD laundry; our families use regular old Tide or Cheer deteregent. So I was thinking that I could bring soap nuts to use for the CDs while we visit.

Is it ok to use Tide for one load and soap nuts for the next? Will the compounds interfere with each other? Will the soap nuts "strip" the Tide residue off the washer and deposit it on the diapers? Any other considerations that I should be thinking of?

Thanks!

[proudmomof4]

I use soap nuts for colors (mostly with a drop of essential oil on the sachet), and I have also switched to more "mainstream detergent" in between. I didn't see any residue but then, of course, I didn't have a chemical testing done...